Jubin Shah
The Future for Space Elevators: The Moon and Beyond An interesting concept, a space elevator from the Earth to the Moon, has been suggested since 1885, or perhaps even earlier (Soderman). Several countries, including the United States, have begun working on the concept with hopes of making it a reality. The NASA Lunar Science Institute, now known as the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, has noted that a space affiliate, the Liftport Group, is being funded through Kickstart to help finance the first step in building the space elevator (Soderman). The Liftport website describes their moon elevator project as follows:
LiftPort’s proposed research will develop practical, near-term solutions for construction and expansion of a Lunar Elevator. The study will include characterization of materials; analysis of required rocketry and robotics; and evaluation of landing sites and methods of anchoring to the Lunar surface. Additionally, Ribbon spooling, infrastructure deployment, and micrometeorite mitigation techniques will be explored (Lunar).

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NASA has also has been instrumental in developing aspects of the moon elevator. Several years ago, NASA sponsored a million dollar contest for whoever could design the best mechanism to climb the elevator.
LaserMotive won $900,000 from NASA's Centennial Challenges program for meeting the Level 1 standard of having their laser-powered robot climb a 900-meter-long cable suspended from a hovering helicopter in less than 7.5 minutes. The team accomplished that goal four times in the first two days of competition, the quickest being in 3 minutes and 48 seconds (Dunbar).

Lasermotive displays their winning entry
(Dunbar)
Recently, International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), has predicted that a space elevator will be operational by 2025 and the only obstacles at this point is the development and design of carbon nanotubes or similar materials needed to construct the cables or tether for the elevator. The IAA also predicts some of the elevator’s capabilities:
It will be able to carry up to seven 20-ton payloads at once. It will serve as a tether stretching far beyond geostationary (aka geosynchronous) orbit and held taught by an anchor of roughly two million kilograms. Sending payloads up this backbone could fundamentally change the human relationship with space — every climber sent up the tether could match the space shuttle in capacity, allowing up to a “launch” every couple of days (Templeton). In addition, the ISS also notes that the space elevator is, “ . . . Not only is a geostationary orbit intrinsically useful for satellites, but it’s far enough up the planet’s gravity well to be able to use it in cheap, Earth-assisted launches.”
Even more promising, they note that, “A mission to Mars might begin by pushing off near the top of the tether and using small rockets to move into a predictably unstable fall — one, two, three loops around the Earth and off we go with enough pep to cut huge fractions off the fuel budget. Setting up a base on the Moon or Mars would be relatively trivial, with a space elevator in place” (Templeton). When considering the NASA planned missions to Mars, the envisioned space elevator would be a very useful asset for the American Astronauts. One important consideration, as usual, is the financial aspect or expense. Is the space elevator realistically and economically affordable? The ISS also addresses this vital concern:
Those are not small advantages, and are worth significant investment from the private sector. Governments and corporations spend billions installing infrastructure in space — an elevator could easily pay for itself, and demand investment from anyone with an interest in ensuring cheap access to it down the line. A space elevator is relevant to scientists, telecoms, and militaries alike — and with Moon- and asteroid-based mining becoming less hare-brained by the minute, Earth’s notorious resource sector could get on-board as well. It will certainly be expensive, probably the biggest mega-project of all time, but since a space elevator can offer a solid value proposition to everyone from Google to DARPA to Exxon, funding might end up being the least of its problems (Templeton).

The Space Elevator (Templeton) With the many benefits of a space elevator to not only NASA, but major corporations as well, one can conclude that the costs are far outweighed by the financial benefits to a wide variety of applications. As such, most entities will agree that an investment in this new and exciting technological feat is a natural step in the progression in mankind’s venture into space and beyond.

Works Cited
Dunbar, Brian. "LaserMotive Wins $900,000 from NASA in Space Elevator Games." NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/status_reports/power_beam.html>.
Lunar Elevator." LiftPort Group. LiftPort Croup, n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <http://liftport.com/lunar-elevator/>.
"Now on Kickstarter: The First Steps Toward a Lunar Space Elevator." Popular Science. Popular Science, n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-08/group-launches-kickstarter-take-first-step-toward-space-elevator>.
Soderman. "The Space Elevator Concept." Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. NASA.gov, n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <http://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/the-space-elevator-concept/>.
Templeton, Graham. "60,000 Miles Up: Space Elevator Could Be Built by 2035, Says New Study.” ExtremeTech. Web. 16 June 2014. <http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/176625-60000-miles-up-geostationary-space-elevator-could-be-built-by-2035-says-new-study>.